Several of these falls have killed people in the valley. The park receives between three and four million visitors per year. Some of the rockfalls and rockslides have occurred in parts of the park that are heavily used by visitors.
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The initial rock fell from the eastern face of El Capitan, not far from Horsetail Fall — the site of Yosemite's famous firefall. The phenomenon occurs when the setting sun hits the El Capitan waterfall in such a way that it looks like lava flowing down the rock face.
Massive Rockfall At Yosemite's Iconic El Capitan Caught On Camera. The 3,000-foot granite monolith is a popular destination for rock climbers. A massive chunk of rocks slid down the face of El Capitan, one of the landmark granite peaks of Yosemite National Park, in a scene caught on video by visitors earlier this week.
Rockfall is actually common in the 7-mile-long Yosemite Valley, with about 80 rock falls recorded annually. The last rockfall-related death in Yosemite was 18 years ago, on June 13, 1999, when 21-year-old Peter Terbush was struck and killed instantly.
The Yosemite Museum has a small geological collection that represents the overarching geology of the park. Ranger-naturalists from the Yosemite Field School collected many of the park's specimens during the first half of the 20th century. (Collecting rocks within national parks is illegal without a research permit.)
Yosemite Creek, which flows over this waterfall, is fed entirely by snow melt. At its peak in late spring, 2,400 gallons per second can flow over the lip of the upper fall. Yosemite Falls usually runs dry by late summer.